NARRATOR: Three thousand years ago the Inuit people migrated into the harsh terrain of the Arctic for the first time.

NARRATOR: When they made this epic journey they were probably not alone.

NARRATOR: In these frozen lands man would come to rely on the skills of the dog as never before.

NARRATOR: The first dogs to arrive here would originally have come from warmer climates, in Asia, yet temperatures here can fall as low as minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit, and these sled dogs will never sleep a night under a roof. They exist on a diet of snow and seal blubber.

NARRATOR: In the Arctic the dog had to become an endurance athlete.

NARRATOR: Sled dogs are small enough to be capable of surviving on very little, but large enough to pull heavy weights. The backbone of the sled dog is stiff to transform muscle power from the legs into pulling power.

NARRATOR: The pack runs with a rhythm, combining their strength to lighten the load. One paw will remain on the ground at all times, maintaining their stability under the strain of the weight. Sled dogs are capable of running the equivalent of 5 marathons a day.

NARRATOR: Some sled dogs have run a thousand miles in eight days, making them the fastest land animals in the world over long distances.

NARRATOR: Like their ancestors, Inuit hunters Levi Palituq and Jason Palluq rely on the senses of their dogs to navigate this potentially treacherous land.

LEVI: Even in a blizzard or a complete white-out where the ground or the snow seems to be the same as the sky, there’s no edge in the horizon, they know how to get home.

NARRATOR: The dogs do not travel ahead of Levi and Jason simply to pull their gear. The snow can cover splits in the ice, and the freezing water below can kill a man within seconds. But the dogs can sense changes in the snow underfoot and will stop if they detect danger.

LEVI: I have seen dogs falling through the ice where a human would not survive, they fall in the water and they seem to get out of it very easily, and shake everything off and it’s ok for them.

NARRATOR: Inuit dogs, male and female, are intensely competitive for the top position. The human sled driver must take the role of Alpha wolf, in this unpredictable environment complete obedience is demanded.

NARRATOR: The most dependable dog is harnessed as the lead dog. Their job is to enforce the driver’s commands and set the pace. The lowest ranking dog in the pack falls at the back of the team. He is known by the Inuit as “least respected dog,” but he is one of the most hard working in the team, pulling the greatest load.

NARRATOR: This is hot and heavy work, but in the Arctic cooling down is no problem.

NARRATOR: The team approaches the hunting grounds on the sea ice. The dogs locate snow covered air holes used by seals, indicating to the men where to hang their nets.

NARRATOR: As the hunters work, the dogs remain on constant watch for their greatest adversary. There is no other animal on this Arctic tundra that would take on the mighty polar bear.

LEVI: They really know how to fight the bear. I have seen dogs go right under the bear and then go out the other end, and I have seen dogs go right under the mouth, right under the neck, and go out the other end as well.

NARRATOR: Levi recalls a time when the Inuit people depended entirely on their dogs.

LEVI: Nowadays we use them mainly to pull light loads. But back when I was a child my parents used to travel only by dog team and my parents took absolutely everything with them on their sled, they were transportation, they were protectors, they found food for us, they helped our people. Without them we would have never survived, without them we wouldn’t be here.

NARRATOR: Unparalleled adaptability and harsh natural selection is what lies behind the incredible resilience of these dog families.

NARRATOR: The puppies are born onto the ice.

NARRATOR: Double-layered fur offers some protection to the pups, but in this environment only the toughest will make it.

NARRATOR: Inuit are no longer forced to rely on their dogs to get around, but many still choose to.

NARRATOR: The dog has mastered this frozen land. Would humans have done the same without them?

JAMES SERPELL: There maybe environments, for example, the Arctic areas, that really would have been too hostile for humans on their own to have been worth colonizing. And that raises the interesting possibility that the only reason there are people living in those areas is because of dogs, because they have dogs.

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